Panthers fall to No. 4 Washington University in Loco’s Invitational; No. 11 Georgetown College notches wins over No. 19 West Florida and Rhodes College

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In the first day of action in the Loco’s Volleyball Invitational, hosted by Birmingham-Southern, the Panthers dropped their lone match of the day, losing 3-0 to No. 4 (DIII) Washington University in the nightcap of the tournament in Bill Battle Coliseum.

In BSC’s match against Washington University, which the Bears won 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-11), Nikki Morrison led with 10 kills and hit an impressive .474 for the match, Audra Janak posted 36 assists, and Tricia Brandt and Laura Brazeal led with 15 and 14 digs, respectively. Erin Albers led at the net with three block assists.

For the Panthers, junior Sarah Harris led with 13 kills while junior Milica Stojanovic led with 19 assists and nine digs.

Washington hit .291 for the match, while BSC struggled offensively, hitting .019. It was the Panthers’ first home loss since Nov. 11, 2006.

In the first match of the day, No. 11 (NAIA) Georgetown College defeated No. 19 (DII) West Florida, 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 16-25, 21-25, 15-10). Three Tigers had double-digit kills: Jessica Hoeh with 15, Erica Janszen with 14, and Kristy Hock with 12. Hoeh also posted a double-double with 17 digs, as did setter Jenna Gronotte with 51 assists and 12 digs. Amy Barmore led defensively with 19 digs, while Alexandra Bertke was also in double digits with 16 digs. Hoeh and Cassie Moore led with five blocks assists apiece. For UWF, Chelsea Wilhoite and Patricia Gandolfo led with 16 and 14 kills, respectively, Luciana Rapach and Madeline Gonzalez led with 27 and 18 assists, respectively, and four different players had double digit digs: Maddie Staub (20), Madeline Gonzalez (18), Wilhoite (16), and Rapach (10). Kara Gonzalez led at the net with seven block assists.

In the second match, Georgetown College defeated Rhodes College, 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-13), led by Emily Lechleiter with 12 kills and Gronotte with 32 assists. Gronotte, Lechleiter and Barmore also led with nine digs apiece. For Rhodes, Allison Squires led with seven kills and three blocks, Laura Jensen led with 15 assists, and Kayla McCrury led with 12 digs.

In match three, West Florida defeated Washington, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-15). Rapach and Wilhoite led the Argos with 11 kills each, Madeline Gonzalez led with 33 assists, and Wilhoite also led with 10 digs. For the Bears, Morrison led again with 15 kills, Janak posted 31 assists, Brazeal led with 18 digs, and Albers led with three blocks.

Action continues tomorrow as West Florida faces Rhodes at 10 a.m., Washington faces Georgetown at noon, BSC takes on West Florida at 2 p.m., Washington faces Rhodes at 4:30 p.m., and BSC wraps up play against Georgetown at 7 p.m., all in Bill Battle Coliseum.